


Contendo

by shannyfish



Series: Memoria Damnum [4]
Category: Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Awesome Pepper, BAMF Pepper Potts, Creepy, Drugs, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Iron Man 3, Memory Loss, Missing Scene, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Non-Consensual Kissing, Non-Consensual Touching, POV Obadiah Stane, POV Pepper Potts, Rape, Rape/Non-con Elements, Stark Tower, Violation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-05
Updated: 2013-08-05
Packaged: 2017-12-22 11:27:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/912661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shannyfish/pseuds/shannyfish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Obadiah has enlisted the help of Aldrich Killian and AIM in order to take back Stark Industries and win the permanent companionship (whether she likes it or not) of Pepper…  Takes place during “Iron Man 3”.  Fourth in the “Memoria Damnum” Series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Contendo

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism is as always appreciated! Check out my blog on my writing at shannyfish11 (dot) blogspot (dot) com

“Sometimes, struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were to go through our life without any obstacles, we would be crippled. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. Give every opportunity a chance, leave no room for regrets.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

 

. . .

 

Stark Industries seemed harder and harder to get into. Obadiah wasn’t sure if system upgrades were to blame or if it was merely because Happy Hogan was working as head of security…and it looked like Pepper’s personal security as well. Hogan had worked for Tony for well over a decade as Tony’s personal security and driver. Maybe now that he was in charge of security for the whole company and Pepper, he’d stepped up his game. 

It was more of a nuisance than anything else. So, he’d had to stick with checking in here and there on Pepper via long distance surveillance. It also meant that it was hard for him to get his hands on her…and how he missed the touch of her delicate bare skin under his hands.

His time was coming though. 

Obadiah knew that his careful planning would pay off.

She seemed more beautiful than ever. She was radiant, but she always looked so sad. It was difficult for him to just sit there and watch, though. Pepper seemed to spend more and more time at the office. He just took that as a good sign for him.

He’d still been rather irritated that Tony had somehow survived the suicide trip up into the opening in the sky above Manhattan. Obadiah had been sure that he wouldn’t have to worry about Tony Stark anymore. But ever since then…Tony hadn’t been really seen. Pepper and Happy had made papers though. Happy always seemed to be not too far from her at conferences and events. He wasn’t scared of the old boxer turned security guard though. 

“Soon enough,” he said to himself. 

 

. . .

 

“How are things developing?”

“I have my appointment set to meet with Pepper,” Aldrich reported.

“What do you think?”

“I doubt she’ll agree to join AIM as far as Extremis goes,” he said honestly. “But it’ll give you some information about what goes on inside the building, including security…” He smiled confidently. “I’m hoping I can at least convince Pepper to dinner.”

“That would be excellent if you could convince her,” Obadiah told him. The only reason he liked that idea was because if she agreed…he could take her for a while in between dinner and home. It was hard now because Happy would follow her halfway home or he knew that he wouldn’t have enough time with her without her absence being noticed.

He couldn’t raise any suspicions.

At least not yet.

“I have a request in all of this,” Aldrich said.

Obadiah wasn’t sure what to expect. “Go on,” he said and braced himself for anything.

“After Stark’s dead,” Aldrich said as if it were already done. “I want Pepper.”

Obadiah grinned. He could play this game… Pepper was going to be his, no matter what. He’d lusted after her for far too many years… She’d already been his and he wasn’t going to let her go… He was going to permanently make her his… “Of course,” he lied. He’d just kill Aldrich Killian once Tony was dead. “I want Stark dead… You know that… And you and Pepper… You have a past, don’t you?” He remembered that Pepper had worked for AIM before starting at Stark Industries.

“I didn’t look like this,” Aldrich told him. “I can tell you that if I did…she would never have turned me down…and things would be very different right now.”

“I think about how things would be very different right now if your people had done things right the first time,” Obadiah told him. He’d hired The Ten Rings to kill Tony years ago… The Ten Rings belonged to Aldrich Killian…it was all part of his grand plan… He even had someone to take the fall. An actor who played the ringleader who was called the Mandarin. 

“I learned a lesson from that.”

“I hope so! So did I…”

“Don’t hire people to do the job that you need to do yourself,” Aldrich said with a smile. “I figured that Raza and Abu would follow orders without question… I was wrong, obviously…but I’m sure you can’t say that you’ll benefit more now with me killing off Stark… The company’s grown and expanded…”

“True.”

“I’ll call you once I meet with her… Let you know what happens…”

“I’ll be waiting…”

 

. . .

 

Obadiah had been waiting far too long that day. He knew exactly when Killian was meeting with Pepper. Four o’clock. Though, he supposed that if she agreed to dinner that maybe they would leave Stark Industries right after their meeting. He expected at least a text… 

His phone rang practically on queue and the caller ID let him know that it was finally Killian checking in. It was about damn time! Patience was not his virtue, as much as he told himself to be patient, he just wasn’t that kind of man. He wanted what he wanted and he wanted it yesterday.

“I’ve been waiting,” Obadiah told him.

“It went longer than expected…”

“I’m assuming that things went well then,” Obadiah said.

“Not exactly,” Aldrich informed him. “It went how I expected… She saw Extremis as weaponizable and refused to work with AIM. Tony Stark apparently still has some say in the company even if he’s a ghost. I guess it pays to be sleeping with the CEO. And she turned down my offer for tonight…apparently she already has plans…” 

Obadiah frowned. He didn’t like that she had plans. He was sure that that meant that she was going home to Tony. He preferred it when she was too busy working or had the time to go out with someone who wasn’t Tony Stark. “That’s unfortunate.”

“That’s what I thought as well.”

“What about the inside of Stark Industries?”

“It’s locked down…and then that security guard…he was in there running around making sure that everyone was wearing their badges and just roaming the whole building,” Aldrich told him. “I’m surprised he even let me into the same room with Pepper…”

“He’s quite protective…”

“That’s as far as I got there…but I have other plans…”

“I expect to hear them before you put them into practice,” Obadiah told him sternly. He wanted to make sure that no one else messed things up. He wanted to guarantee that things would go off without a hitch. 

“Of course,” Aldrich said evenly. “I just need to firm up the plans… Make sure that I have all of the details in place… You understand.”

“Of course.”

“You’ll be hearing from me.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

 

. . .

 

Obadiah had been watching the television far more than normal. He normally just stuck to the news and then the paper. He always found that the newspapers were far more on track with the stories and information that he needed. But with Killian, he felt like he needed to keep an eye on things. And when the report that Stark’s Bodyguard was in the hospital came on the television, he felt like he’d been given an early Christmas present…

Happy Hogan wasn’t dead. 

Sadly.

But he was in critical condition…and that was good enough for him.

He watched a clip of Tony being ‘interviewed’ outside of the hospital. How he threatened the Mandarin and how he challenged him. Obadiah doubted that Tony really knew what he was doing. That was Pepper’s job. She was the thinker…at least when it came to things like this. Tony Stark was the man who reacted.

His phone rang and he picked it up as he continued to watch the news. “Hello?”

“I trust you’ve seen the news.”

“You didn’t call me first…”

“It was…unexpected…” Aldrich told him.

Obadiah smirked. “Sometimes those are the best kind.”

“Hogan followed some of my men… I highly doubt he’ll recover,” Aldrich said.

“I wouldn’t count him out just yet,” Obadiah told him. “If Tony and Pepper have both left him in that hospital then they expect him to make it. I am curious as to how you’re going to answer Tony’s challenge… How is the Mandarin going to face Iron Man? He’s a lot tougher than he seems… Believe me, I know first hand…”

“Don’t you know the best way to get at a man?” 

Obadiah just waited and listened.

“You take away everything that he’s built… You take away his home… You take away everything that he loves…”

“I don’t want Pepper involved in any of this…” Obadiah told him. “She’s not to be harmed.”

“Of course not.”

“Then I look forward to seeing what you have planned…”

“You won’t miss it…” Aldrich told him. “And he’ll never see it coming…”

 

. . .

 

Since Tony Stark had challenged the Mandarin on live television, there had been constant news coverage of his Malibu mansion. Obadiah had left it on, just so he’d have immediate access to what was going on. He didn’t want to miss the show. Knowing what Aldrich Killian was capable of…he wasn’t going to make it small. He was going to kill Tony Stark and the world would remember…

The news reporter’s frenzied voices brought his eyes up to the screen. A missile was flying towards the mansion. It exploded and more missiles followed. As much as he loved that place and had hoped to keep it for himself…he had no problems if this was how Killian was going about it… It was going to destroy everything that Tony had in there… All of his workshop would be gone. His collections would be destroyed… His suits would be destroyed… Everything that he’d worked hard to collect or invent or put together…it would be all gone… 

And the best thing…Tony Stark would be gone with all of those things as well…

Obadiah grinned at the thought of the magnificent mansion that he could build in place of the one that was currently being blown to pieces. It started to slip into the ocean…and he could see cars falling from the garage down into their watery grave. 

With the mansion almost completely in the Pacific Ocean, the helicopters moved about and tried to show all of the damage that had been done. The reporters were speaking, but he wasn’t listening. Outside of the wreckage, he spotted two figures…and immediately he knew that one of them was Pepper. Her hair was always a dead giveaway. 

Aldrich Killian and his men had fired on the mansion with Pepper inside. Thank God that she and whomever she was with had made it out alive. The news cameras were closer now and he could tell that whomever she was with was another women. The news reported no signs of Tony Stark or Iron Man. 

He was fuming.

They’d endangered Pepper.

He picked up the phone and dialed. As soon as Aldrich’s smooth voice answered, he let loose. “What the hell were you thinking?! She was in the house when you fired on it! She could have been killed!”

“They had reported that the house only had one person in it,” Aldrich told him. “Tony Stark was supposed to be the only one there… Pepper and whomever she’s with must have come in after they were already in position… Believe me, I’ve already taken care of it… I don’t want to see her injured in any way…”

And Obadiah did know that Killian had a thing for Pepper. He obviously wasn’t that smitten or else it would have never happened… He would have removed her first and then had the mansion fired on.

“Besides Pepper being there…what did you think of the show?” Aldrich asked.

“Honestly?” Obadiah asked. “It’s always sad to see such beautiful architecture destroyed… But it was also the most spectacular show I’ve seen… And I assume he didn’t make it out?” 

“I’ve been told that he was in the armor, but he was dragged to the bottom with all of the debris from the building… All of those vehicles…and slabs of concrete…and wires… He’s been down there too long… Not unless his suit is equipped for underwater breathing…”

“I have no idea… Anything’s possible with Tony Stark.”

“Then we’ll have to expect that he’ll show up, but that doesn’t mean I’m not moving ahead,” Aldrich told him. “Waiting around just isn’t something I do…”

“And what’s the next stage of your plans?” Obadiah questioned. He watched as the newscast replayed the mansion being destroyed again. He just smiled at it. Even if Tony was somehow alive…his home was gone… His friend was in the hospital… 

“I’m going to go personally pick up Pepper…” Aldrich said. “I know how I can find out where she is… If she’s smart, she’s running…”

“Just remember… I don’t want her harmed…”

“Just remember our deal. She’s mine once Stark’s finally declared dead.”

“Oh, I’ll remember…”

That didn’t mean he was going to honor it.

Pepper was going to be his.

 

. . . 

 

He’d received a phone call and he was rather pleased. At least things were going well now as far as he was concerned. The Stark Mansion had been destroyed, Tony had been seen or heard from since, and Aldrich Killian had Pepper in his possession. Obadiah had the location and he was on his way to see her for himself. He’d told Killian that he needed to see with his own eyes that she hadn’t been harmed. 

Obadiah planned on having some time alone with her. He wasn’t sure how much time he’d be able to have, so he had picked up a different drug of choice for this occasion. It would act faster and though it would leave her in a zombie-like state afterwards, she wouldn’t remember any of it. And he needed that right now. They weren’t sure that Tony Stark was dead. He wasn’t going to count him out until they found the body. 

He knew better.

Obadiah finally arrived at the location. It wasn’t anything special, but he didn’t expect it to be. Killian seemed awfully good at the inexplicable location… He had to give him credit for that. If it wasn’t a cave at the base of the Hindu Kush Mountains in Afghanistan, it was a condemned warehouse…

He was shown in and it was nice not to be treated like the enemy when he entered. Killian acted like they were partners, which was true…until he needed to kill him… “I just needed to see for my own eyes… She’s been with the company for so long…and such a dear friend,” he told Killian. “It’s not her fault that she was charmed by Tony Stark… She held out for so long…”

“True,” Aldrich said as he showed Obadiah to where they were keeping her.

“Do you think I could have some time with her? Maybe I could calm her down a bit?” It wasn’t just his new drug of choice that he’d brought, but also a bottle of wine with two glasses. It was Pepper’s favorite wine and it was almost a tradition at this point. He showed Aldrich. “It’s her favorite… I just thought maybe talking to someone else…and having some wine might…wind her down a bit…”

Aldrich smiled. “Maybe you’re right… I’ll have the guards outside, though… You can never be too careful…”

“You never can,” Obadiah said with a grin. 

Aldrich nodded to the guards before finally leaving. 

 

. . .

 

“If I had to decide on a historical figure for you… You know who you would be?”

The voice was surprising and alarming at the same time. She turned from the corner she was huddled in. She’d tired herself out from banging and pounding on the door. The palm of her hands felt raw and her knuckles had started to bleed from her efforts. Pepper just stared at him. She was hallucinating… Whatever they had in the warehouse or factory she was in…it must have had some chemicals that were causing her to hallucinate. 

“You’d be Helen of Troy…”

Pepper just blinked at him as he entered further. She noticed the bottle of wine and the glasses he had in his hands and knew that she really had to have lost it, hallucinating, or having some twisted dream… Those were the only possibilities that made sense to her.

Obadiah Stane was long dead.

“You’ve got armies going to war for you…” he told her and sat down across from her. 

She didn’t speak to him. She was certain he was a hallucination. So, instead she just watched. He set the wine and glasses to the side and then dug deep into his pocket. He pulled out a pair of medical gloves and pulled them on. A small bag of a white powder substance was pulled from his pocket and he emptied it into his hand. She watched him curiously. Was it a drug? She didn’t think of Obadiah Stane as someone who did drugs. 

“They call this ‘The Devil’s Breath’,” he told her. “It’s naturally occurring from a tree in Bogota…”

Pepper watched, but as he leaned in closer to her, she realized that she couldn’t go anywhere. She was against a wall. And when he blew it hit her face and she blinked her eyes and coughed and tried to rub it away from her face. She blinked rapidly and when she finally cleared her eyes, she saw that the gloves were gone and he was pouring wine. It was her favorite kind. “This is a dream,” she whispered.

“For now,” he told her. 

“What do you mean?”

“You won’t remember any of this…and you’re going to be quiet for me…” he told her. 

Pepper just stared at him. What did any of this mean? Why was she hallucinating any of this? It was bad enough to have Aldrich Killian have her captive, but she didn’t think that she needed to be haunted by Obadiah Stane on top of it. “It doesn’t matter if I’m quiet, this isn’t real…”

“It’s very real,” Obadiah told her. He held out the cup to her. “I would have liked better circumstances… Real wine glasses… A bed… More privacy… But this is what I have to work with, so I’m going to take it…”

Pepper took the glass and set it down. She watched as he drank down his wine. “I don’t understand.”

“You don’t have to,” he told her and then moved in, pinning her against the wall. 

His lips were on hers and that’s when it hit her that it was real. Her arms came up and pressed against his chest. She pushed him back and he just laughed. Pepper got to her feet and kept her back to the wall. “You’re real!” she shouted.

“Shhh…” he cooed and then laughed again. “It doesn’t matter…”

“It does to me!”

“You’re not going to remember any of this tomorrow,” he said as he closed in on her. 

“Stay back!”

“Or what?” he asked with a laugh. “You’ll claw my eyes out? You clawed my face last time…but it healed just fine…and it was worth the fun we had…”

Pepper just stared at him. Her head was starting to feel a little foggy. No, she wasn’t going to let this happen. This couldn’t happen. He wasn’t going to touch her. She tried to run past him, but he grabbed her arm and yanked her back. “No!” she screamed. He flipped her over and her back was slammed hard down against the concrete floor. Obadiah was on top of her and he was ripping her shirt open, the buttons flying. 

This was not going to happen. 

Aldrich still had a sweet spot for her; she didn’t think he’d allow this…

His hand started to push at her bra as his other hand tried to hold her still. She screamed at the top of her lungs, brought her knee back, and tried to kick him between the legs. It didn’t move him and it just seemed to piss him off. He brought up his hand and brought it back down across her face. 

“Bitch!” he yelled at her. 

His hands were around her neck and she was struggling to breathe. Pepper’s hands clawed at his and flailed her legs. She could feel her perfectly manicured fingernails making contact with his skin, but it didn’t seem to help any. 

“It’s better this way,” he told her. “Less struggling and less screaming…” 

The last two things she remembered before finally passing out was the grin on Obadiah’s face and the door opening. 

Aldrich Killian wasn’t going to allow this to happen…

 

. . . 

 

“What the hell were you doing in there?” Killian demanded. “My men said they found you in there on top of her…choking her…and you’d ripped her shirt open!” 

Obadiah shrugged and tried to look embarrassed. “The truth is… Pepper and I had a bit of a fling before… She was so happy to see me, but so upset when I told her that it would be our last time… She begged me for a quickie…one last time…and Pepper’s into some kinky stuff…” he lied his ass off. “She likes it rough and to be choked like that…” 

“You know how I feel about her…”

“You can have her… I didn’t think you’d mind me having her this one last time before you have her for the rest of your days,” Obadiah told him. “I mean, who can say no to her? And she was finally relaxing too…”

“They said she was screaming,” Aldrich said. “Is that part of your foreplay as well?” 

“I’ll admit,” Obadiah said. “I’m used to having soundproof walls… I didn’t even think about it when she started screaming…”

He watched as Aldrich Killian eyed him for a good minute. Obadiah knew that he was trying to figure out whether or not he should believe him. He was lying, but he always believed that he was a convincing liar. After all the years he’d lied while working at Stark Industries, he was pretty sure that he deserved some kind of award for how good he was…

“I would appreciate the whole truth in the future,” he said finally. “Anything that I should know, I want to know…even if you think it’s irrelevant.”

Obadiah grinned. “I understand and of course… I just… Really… How could I say no to her?” He tried to act sad for Pepper and he was downright disappointed. He’d gotten himself all worked up and for what? A lecture in the hall? He hadn’t even gotten to grope her… “She’s probably so upset now…”

“I’d let you have her for a few minutes, but I’m afraid that I had her removed from that room…and I can’t have her bothered with such…physical activity for the time being…”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, you’ll see…” Aldrich told him with one of his charming and yet evil smiles. “She’s nearly perfect…”

 

. . .

 

“How’s she doing?”

“As expected,” Maya spoke up.

“Please… Just let me go,” Pepper cried. She was terrified of what they were about to do. Tony hadn’t told her anything about the Mandarin. All she knew was that Tony had challenged him, he was a terrorist, and she wasn’t going to allow them both to die because they were too stubborn to live the Malibu mansion.

Things hadn’t gone as planned.

“I want her ready… Push Extremis…” Aldrich told Maya before turning to her. A hand ran along her bare side from the black sports bra to the top of her black pants. “You’re going to be perfect… You’ll see…”

“What are you doing to me?” she asked as she looked from Maya to Aldrich and to everything that Maya had and then back to Aldrich. It was like some twisted nightmare, but she wasn’t waking up from it. She was already in panic mode, even before they’d brought her to whatever they were calling where she was, and she had no idea why. 

“Making you better,” Aldrich responded.

Panic was so widespread in her system that she felt like she was going to explode. “Please, Aldrich…”

He moved closer to her and his lips were just inches from her ear as he talked. “I’m going to make you perfect, Pepper… A goddess among men… You’ll be at my side through what’s about to come… Extemis…it’s going to make you so much better…stronger…” His nose was suddenly right below her ear and he was inhaling her scent. 

Pepper couldn’t stop the tears that fell. He dragged his nose along her skin, up towards her cheek, and then finally kissed it before moving back. She felt violated. She felt the world spiraling downward and inward and crashing down all around her. 

“I should apologize for earlier… I hadn’t meant to intrude,” Aldrich told her as he backed away. 

“I don’t understand,” she whispered through the tears.

“That’s probably for the best…” Aldrich told her with far too much of a gentle tone. He stared at her for far too long and it made her even sicker. 

She had tubes hooked up to her and she was strapped down and attached to leads that were attached to machines. She didn’t know what was going on. All she knew was that Killian felt like it would make her perfect. Pepper didn’t want to be perfect. She was okay being flawed. Tony loved her the way she was… He loved her need for scheduling and organization and having control over her life…even if he tried to disrupt it several times on a daily basis… No matter the madness in the world, he would love her…just as she would continue to love him. 

Tony Stark was the man that the universe intended on her being with.

Nothing Aldrich Killian did to her was going to change that. She and Tony, they’d get through it together… And she knew that Tony was coming for her. Wherever he was…whatever he was doing…he’d come for her… They’d rebuild and start over… They’d survive…but most importantly they’d be together.

“I’m going to kill him, you know,” Aldrich said. “I know he’s alive, but he won’t be for long…” He smiled. “You really are going to be perfect.” Killian turned to Maya. “Start the procedure…”

 

. . .

 

After Killian had left, she’d begged Maya to let her go. She’d begged her to stop the Extremis serum that was flowing into her. The other woman had looked sad, but hadn’t done anything to help her. 

“You know, I wanted to do this another way…” Maya told her. “You don’t deserve to be involved in all of this.”

“So, let me go,” she whispered as tears flowed freely down her face. Extremis felt like she was on fire from the inside. Her veins burned and her muscles boiled. Her bones even ached and spikes of pain would shoot upwards inside of them. The pain was unending. 

“He loves you, you know,” Maya spoke up after a long while of her just monitoring screens in silence.

“Killian?” Pepper asked in shock. She could barely get the words out. 

“No,” Maya said with a bit of a laugh. “Tony… You’re the one woman in this world who was able to settle him down… You’re the one that he comes home to…”

And he did come home for her.

She always thought that he’d be out fighting crime or tinkering in the workshop. He came to bed. He was going through hell already…before AIM and Killian and the Mandarin… But he always came home to her. He’d lie in bed with her…even if it wasn’t for the whole night. And she always knew where to find him. 

“He’s changed, you know,” she pushed out with all of her strength. She thought that if she could get through to Maya then maybe she’d let her go. Maybe she’d help her. Maybe she’d rethink things… She didn’t think that Maya Hansen was an awful person, but she did think that she was working for one… “Tony… He’s not the man you remember…”

“But he hasn’t,” Maya told her and Pepper could hear the sadness again. “He could have joined us… He could have been apart of something great… Killian gave you that chance, too… He came to you and asked you to join us… To help with Extremis…”

She shook her head. None of this was about Extremis. None of this was about companies working together. It was so clear to her, but obviously not Maya Hansen. “He’s a good man!” she got out and then screamed out as the pain started to curb towards absolutely unbearable. Her eyes squeezed shut as she tried to mentally flush the pain from her system. There was no way that she couldn’t feel it. It was widespread and overpowering…overtaking all of her.

“You’re wrong,” Maya told her. “It’s his fault that you’re here… He could have stopped all of this…”

She screamed again and Pepper felt like she was going to explode. “Please!” she begged. Pepper opened her eyes to stare at Maya. “Stop!”

“I can’t, even if I wanted to…” Maya whispered and left the room. 

 

. . .

 

She was absolutely physically exhausted and emotionally drained. The pain was ebbing away and though she felt like she was still burning…Pepper knew now that she wasn’t going to die. Underneath the exhaustion, she felt strength building inside of her. She felt like she was just hanging there, her head slack against her chest, and she wondered if they were going to unstrap her and just let her curl up. 

The sound of the door opening piqued her interest, but she couldn’t bring herself to looking up. Pepper was sure that it was Maya or someone else coming to check the monitors. Maybe it was Killian… Maybe he’d come to check on her… He was so concerned about her being perfect. She didn’t feel perfect. Pepper felt a tiny bit broken…shattered even…and like she’d been drug through hell…

“We don’t have long.”

Pepper shifted her head slightly to the side as she tried to make sense of the voice that echoed in the room. 

“I don’t need long,” the voice said and then it was followed by a heavy laugh. 

Before she could see his face, dust was being blown into hers. She pulled her head away and turned to look the other way. She couldn’t escape it though; more was being blown into her face. 

“I can’t be too careful… He explained what he’s done to you… You’ll just be better for me once I kill him,” the voice said all too quietly. “But I can’t have your system burning this off too soon…” 

“Who?” she whispered.

“Killian doesn’t what me to upset you before he has to move you,” he continued and she hears a belt being undone. “I don’t think it matters if you’re not going to remember it… I just wish we had more time… I’ve been waiting for this for so long…”

“Please…let me go,” she whispered and tears started to fall again. She didn’t know who was there or what was happening. It was all so much still. The voice was familiar, but she just couldn’t place it. Her body and brain were still coping with the lingering pain she felt…with the heat in her body…

He was unfastening the straps that held her in place and she noticed that he put a heavy hand in the middle of her chest to steady her as he undid the final one. She expected to see his face then. Whoever was there. She wanted to know who it was. Friend or foe? She was eased to the floor face first and she struggled to push herself up. He laughed again behind her. She heard rustling and then suddenly she was being pulled back by her waist, her pants were being shoved down along with her panties and a rough hand was there. Fingers pressed and pushed and shoved their way into her. Pepper sobbed and tried to pull away. 

“Please…stop…” she sobbed out.

She knew it wasn’t Killian. Was it one of his men? But the voice was familiar… She tried to scream, but her voice was dry and raw from all the screaming and crying she’d done while Extremis had been pumped into her. 

“I’m not going to stop, Pepper,” he whispered into her ear. His body now hunched over her, all of his weight bearing down on her. His rough hands pushed up the black sports bra that they’d put on her and his greedy hands were on here breasts, mauling them. 

A heavy sob rang out from her. She tried to crawl away, but she didn’t get far before he forced her back, his thick fingers digging into the tender skin on her hips. Before she could try to move again, he was shoving his hard member into her. He yanked her torso back and up, his hand holding her breast as he mauled it once again, the other hand holding her hips in place as he thrusted into her without mercy. 

“Mmmm that’s my girl,” he whispered harshly into her ear, which was followed by some grunts. “You have no idea how much I’ve thought about our reunion…”

And the world faded around her.

 

. . .

 

He knew he wouldn’t last long. Obadiah had known that the moment he’d seen her looking so sad outside of Stark Industries. He’d intended on having more time with her than this, but it would be enough until after his deal with Killian was concluded…and after what would come after… 

She had gone slack a few minutes before, but he hadn’t cared. All that was on his mind was his release. He’d take his time with her…owning her…but that would come later… She would be overjoyed to be in his arms after going through hell at the hands of Aldrich Killian… 

Obadiah felt like he was so close to his release when he realized that Pepper’s whole body felt like it was feverish. He ignored it at first, figuring that it was his own body that was hot. After all, it was a workout. He was so close when his hands suddenly moved away from her skin and he tumbled backwards and onto the floor before he could finish. Her skin had gone from feverish to burning… She was burning up like a her skin was laced with flames… 

He pushed himself back and got to his feet as he pulled up his pants even though he really wasn’t done with her. There was no way that he was going to risk injuring any part of him, let alone something he felt was more valuable than legs. Obadiah stared at her and watched as orange and red ripples through the skin on her back like flames.

Extremis.

It was the only answer.

What happened next shocked him even more. Pepper was on her feet and turning to him. Her hands mindlessly rearranging her clothing. Her eyes were glowing, fiery and angry. Dangerous. For the first time in his life, he feared Pepper Potts. It wasn’t the same as nails digging into his flesh. No, this was different. 

She approached him and he backed up. There was something though…it was different. It was like she was blank. The scopolamine was supposed to make her forget…it was supposed to be fast-acting…but it was also supposed to put her into a zombie-like state until it wore off… This was not the zombie-like state he had expected. Obadiah had been told that she’d be child-like… This wasn’t child-like… This was like a brains-hungry zombie… 

He didn’t know exactly how she could move so fast, but he was starting to think that it all had to do with the Extremis that Killian had introduced to her system. It was the only answer. It had burned the scopolamine out of her system far faster than he had expected and he’d even given her a double dose. She was wailing on him before he could even lift an arm to defend, block, or cover himself. Screams escaped his lips before he could even think about it.

Her hits and scratches were so much more than normal… He could feel an instant bruise with every hit… He could feel his skin being cut with every scratch… Her strength, speed, and deadliness was unbelievable… It would turn him on even more if her fury hadn’t been directed at him. 

“Now, Pepper…” Killian purred as he held her back. He chuckled as he held her to his chest. 

“Thank you,” Obadiah said in between pants as he tried to regain his breath. He felt like he’d been jumped in an ally and beaten within an inch of his life. He could feel the blood dripping from where she’d scratched him. 

Pepper suddenly went limp in Killian’s arms and he was repositioning her to the board that they’d had her strapped to. “You deserved that… You’re lucky I stopped her…”

“I told you,” Obadiah said. “I was just saying goodbye…”

“Our deal—“

“Our deal was that she was yours…once Stark was dead… He’s not dead yet…” Obadiah told him sternly. “Look at her! You can’t blame me for having one last go with her! I’d be a fool not to!”

Killian just seemed amused by everything. “But she’s mine now…”

“She’s Helen of Troy…” Obadiah told him as he tried to straighten out his clothing. He was checking buttons and zippers. He grinned. “Stark’s still out there… May the best man win…”

“I destroyed Stark…everything that he had…I have Pepper… What else could there be? There’s no Trojan Horse…”

“Something I learned long ago, Aldrich,” Obadiah said as he made his way towards the door. He paused for a moment as he thought about it. It was sort of amusing sometimes about how things worked out… Now, he was doubting whether Aldrich Killian would manage to actually dispose of Tony. 

Either way, he’d be ready…

“Never count Tony Stark out… He’ll have that horse… You better keep a sharp look out… Expect the unexpected when it comes to him,” Obadiah told him before leaving. That was all he needed to say. 

It was truth and a fair warning. 

 

. . .

 

Change was inevitable. 

There was no avoiding it.

You had to just weather through it.

Some people would sink, some would float, and some would fly…

She chose the latter.

“You’re sure about this? I mean, I’ve talked to the YMCA crew—“

“The structural engineers?”

“You know who I’m talking about,” Happy said.

Pepper shook her head, but smiled. She knew that this was going to be hard. She was more worried about Tony. Happy would figure it out. She had expected Happy to accept the change a little more freely. New York was where Happy was originally from, but he’d lived in California for so long… 

“It’s going to take time,” Tony spoke up for the first time. One of his arms was wrapped through Pepper’s as they all walked together.

Stark Tower.

It had once been their brave new venture…

And then Loki had happened…

New York had been rebuilt and Stark Tower along with it. Things were different. They were all different. Pepper just hoped that Tony could cope. He’d come so far… She knew that deep down, he was still Iron Man. The lack of arc reactor hadn’t changed that… It had made him confident again… More so than before. It wasn’t just that, she saw renewed hope in him… 

“Boss—“

“It’s going to take them awhile to have it structurally sound enough so that they can even rebuild the rest of the house. Let’s face it. My workshop was the most important thing that got destroyed…”

“I think you saved the cellar,” Pepper pointed out as they entered the tower. 

“I did…but that wasn’t the most important thing that Killian tried to take away from me,” he said while looking at her the whole time. “And she saved me…” There was a twinkle in his eye and they exchanged a meaningful look before he reverted back to his normal self. “You were slacking a bit Happy… Too much Downton Abbey, I think.”

Happy sighed. “You really don’t want to get into this again.”

“I really don’t want to hear it again,” Pepper told them both. 

“Are we sure our suite is ready?” Tony asked her.

Pepper smiled and nodded. He’d given her a whole list of reasons on why they didn’t need to move into the Penthouse suite of Stark Tower until everything was ready…and she’d been fine with that. She didn’t want to hear about sweaty workmen or people invading his space. Plus, it allowed her to make the décor changes that she wanted. “Yes, Mr. Stark…”

“Excellent, Ms. Potts,” Tony said as all three of them stepped into the elevator again. He looked over at her and she could see the mischief in his eyes. “And when do I get to call you Mrs. Stark?”

Shaking her head, she let out a frustrated sigh. “Never…” They’d talked about this. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to marry him. They just didn’t have the time right now. Also, it wasn’t like Tony had proposed… She thought that he just liked to mess with her…

“If this starts into a conversation about a woman’s place, I’m opting out of it right now,” Happy told them. “I’m not picking sides…” His hands where on his chest. “I’m whatever place where you don’t have to pick sides.”

“Switzerland?” Pepper asked.

“Sure… I’ll be Swiss…”

“Did we get Happy’s bunk beds?” Tony asked as he rocked on his heels.

“Don’t worry about Happy’s accommodations,” Pepper told him. 

“Are our walls soundproof?”

Pepper was so thankful once the elevator doors opened. She was sure Happy was too because he bolted. Tony knew how to push buttons way too easily. They’d spent a lot of time over the last few weeks, all three of them, while Happy recovered. 

“What’s his problem?” Tony asked.

“You.”

“I thought I was your problem.”

“Oh you are,” she said as she stepped out. She headed towards their bedroom and was so happy to have a space that was theirs. Staying at a hotel was fine. Tony had the money to pay for the very best, but it wasn’t the same as going home.

Stark Tower was home now.

“This doesn’t feel right,” he said as he walked up behind her.

“Because we’re missing a giant rabbit?” she teased and turned to him. He’d made up for it, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t going to let it go so easily… Plus, it kept things from being so weird about the other house.

“You know, that’s really why they were firing missiles at the house…”

Pepper let out a laugh and shook her head before wrapping her arms around him. She was wrong. She was so wrong. 

He was her home. 

He always had been.

He always would be.

“I love you,” she whispered. 

“I love you,” he whispered back and his lips were on hers.

She smiled against his and she knew that this was home. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt. His hands were on her jacket, unbuttoning it, and sliding it from her shoulders. She giggled and then pulled back when his hands moved on to the camisole that she’d been wearing under it. “We’re going to dinner soon…”

“We have time,” Tony told her.

“We have a reservation.”

“I’m Tony Stark,” he told her.

“It’s not in your name,” she pointed out.

Tony sighed. “I told you how to fix that… Pepper Stark…”

“Doesn’t quite have the same ring to it,” she teased back. 

“Fine,” he sighed dramatically. “The legal stuff can say Virginia Stark…and I’m fine with you going by Pepper Potts…but in the bedroom I get to call you Mrs. Stark…” 

Pepper laughed. “You’ve got it all figured out, don’t you?”

“I wish,” he told her and beamed at her. He pulled her close again. “God knows that if I had it all figured out that we wouldn’t just be talking about this…”

“We can’t,” she whispered into his ear as his hands wandered over the bare skin of her abdomen. “Dinner…”

“Come on… We have an hour…” Tony said as he glanced over at a nearby clock.

“What if Happy walks in?”

“Really? That’s what’s really keeping things from happening?” Tony teased. “He can’t live here if that means we’re not going to do anything besides actually sleep in our bed… Maybe we can put him in charge of overseeing construction of the new mansion in Malibu… Get him a pup tent and some matches…”

Before he could continue, she was kissing him and working on his pants. “Shut up,” she told him after a minute. 

Clothes started to hit the floor and Tony had become a lot less talkative. He’d paused though before removing her panties. He was kissing her outer thighs. She’d had bruising all along them after Killian had had her. She hadn’t been able to explain it and had only come up with when they had her on the table they had her strapped to, that they had to have held her in place while they strapped her down. The bruises were almost entirely gone, but Tony was kissing them away now even though they were yellowed and barely noticeable on her porcelain skin. 

“Sir, you requested that I remind you—“

“Not now, JARVIS!” Tony snapped as his fingers made contact with the lace of her panties. 

“But Sir, you wanted to know when all of the information stored on the cloud were successfully downloaded onto the secure servers here at Stark Tower…” JARVIS continued.

Pepper laughed and ran her fingers through his hair.

“It can really wait,” Tony told him.

“Most of the files storage are from previous projects you worked on, but there are also a couple of items that Ms. Potts has saved as well.”

“Not now, JARVIS,” Pepper said and looked down at Tony, who looked like a kicked puppy.

“I must remind you—“

“JARVIS! I’m trying to make love to Pepper before we have to go to dinner… Do you mind?” Tony asked.

“Of course, Sir. If there’s anything I can assist you with.”

“Silence.”

“As you wish, Sir.”

Tony waited and looked up at her. “I think we’re good…” he whispered.

Pepper giggled and pulled him to his feet. She wrapped her arms around him and crushed his lips with hers. 

 

. . .

 

The End.


End file.
